Entrepreneurs Circle

Google My Business – Foundation Block 3 – Entrepreneurs Marketing System

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Google my business

Google My Business Entrepreneurs Circle Certified Coach

Many businesses have never bother to spend the two hours it takes to sort out “Google My Business”. It’s completely free to claim and optimise your listing. Google loves content and will reward you with more visitors and therefore leads.

Having your Google My Business listing appear in Google searches and maps makes it easy for local potential customers to find you online and even gives them the directions to your physical location. It also gives you credibility, especially when you combine this with the systematic collection of reviews (see Foundation Block 6) . We recommend spending an hour every 6 months for a quick review and update of your listing.

Here is our Google My Business Checklist that you can use.

 

Here is the complete list of 11 Foundation Blocks of the Entrepreneurs Marketing System

=> Marketing Asset Review – Foundation Block 1
=> Re-marketing & Pixel Tracking – Foundation Block 2
=> Google My Business – Foundation Block 3
=> Follow Up Process – Foundation Block 4
=> Price Review – Foundation Block 5
=> Systemised Collection of Reviews – Foundation Block 6
=> Marketing Calendar – Foundation Block 7
=> Knowledge Centre – Foundation Block 8
=> Neighbourhood Cards – Foundation Block 9
=> LinkedIn – Foundation Block 10
=> Answer the Phone – Foundation Block 11

 

>> Download the full guide <<

Google My Business

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to learn more about the 11 Foundations then I offer a free 1hr Discovery Call.

Re-marketing & Pixel Tracking – Foundation Block 2 – Entrepreneurs Marketing System

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Re-marketing & Pixel Tracking Entrepreneurs Circle Certified Coach

As someone visits your website we add a piece of code (a pixel) to their web browser and this enables Google and Facebook to track their online activity. Then as your website visitors surf around the internet we can re-market to them and show them adverts. So they do not forget about your product or service.

These days having someone “pixelled” can be more valuable than capturing their email address as emails are easily ignored. But as remarketing ads can be low cost and target only those who have already shown an interest in what you sell then they can be highly effective with a huge return on investment (ROI). And going forward we can get really sophisticated. For instance, once Facebook knows who your customers are then it is able to go out and automatically target people who are most similar to your ideal customers.

The first thing to do is to immediately ask your web guy or gal to check if you have the Google and Facebook pixels installed on your website. Once the pixels are installed you are gathering valuable data on your website visitors that you can use to remind visitors about the products and services you sell.

 

Here is the complete list of 11 Foundation Blocks of the Entrepreneurs Marketing System:-

=> Marketing Asset Review – Foundation Block 1
=> Re-marketing & Pixel Tracking – Foundation Block 2
=> Google My Business – Foundation Block 3
=> Follow Up Process – Foundation Block 4
=> Price Review – Foundation Block 5
=> Systemised Collection of Reviews – Foundation Block 6
=> Marketing Calendar – Foundation Block 7
=> Knowledge Centre – Foundation Block 8
=> Neighbourhood Cards – Foundation Block 9
=> LinkedIn – Foundation Block 10
=> Answer the Phone – Foundation Block 11

 

>> Download the full guide <<

Re-marketing & Pixel Tracking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to learn more about the 11 Foundations then I offer a free 1hr Discovery Call.

Marketing Asset Review – Foundation Block 1 – Entrepreneurs Marketing System

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Marketing Asset Review Entrepreneurs Circle Certified CoachYour marketing assets such as website, direct mail, flyers etc are probably created ad hoc and are informally assessed by – “I like that”.

Now is the time to have a Marketing Asset Review standardised process to ensure the quality of the marketing assets that are approved within your business.

Obviously, at the end of the day, the success of any piece of marketing comes down to the sales it brings in. But you need an objective Marketing Asset Review to provide a systemised framework by which you and your team can assess your marketing before it is approved and goes live.

Here you can download our Marketing Collateral Quality Test which you can apply to your new and existing marketing assets.     

 

Here is the complete list of 11 Foundation Blocks of the Entrepreneurs Marketing System

=> Marketing Asset Review – Foundation Block 1
=> Re-marketing & Pixel Tracking – Foundation Block 2
=> Google My Business – Foundation Block 3
=> Follow Up Process – Foundation Block 4
=> Price Review – Foundation Block 5
=> Systemised Collection of Reviews – Foundation Block 6
=> Marketing Calendar – Foundation Block 7
=> Knowledge Centre – Foundation Block 8
=> Neighbourhood Cards – Foundation Block 9
=> LinkedIn – Foundation Block 10
=> Answer the Phone – Foundation Block 11

 

>> Download the full guide <<

Marketing Asset Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to learn more about the 11 Foundations then I offer a free 1hr Discovery Call.

Neighbourhood Card Examples Library

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Having a Neighbourhood card is a foundation block of the Entrepreneurs Marketing System by the Entrepreneurs Circle.

If you provide services at customers homes then this is a fantastic strategy to get new customers. One Entrepreneurs Circle member who fits kitchens and bathrooms did 30 installations and off the back of neighbourhood cards generated a further 9 jobs! Just by dropping cards at the neighbouring houses. The concept is simple, when delivering a service at customers homes then drop cards at 5 homes to the right, 5 homes to the left and 10 homes opposite your customer’s house – how simple can it be?

 

Here is my library of neighbourhood cards that I feel are good examples.

neighbourhood card entrepreneurs circle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any good neighbourhood card examples I would be delighted to see them, and may add them to the list on this page. Just ping them over to me.

 

Julian

Get your copy of my new guide – The Small Business Owners Growth Guilde – The 11 Marketing Foundation Blocks Your Business NEEDS To Flourish And Thrive

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I have just released my new guide for download – The Small Business Owners Growth Guilde – The 11 Marketing Foundation Blocks Your Business NEEDS To Flourish And Thrive

I trust you will find this guide highly beneficial for your business.

From our experience helping entrepreneurs over the past 20 years with marketing, these are the 11 Marketing Foundation Blocks that every business needs (with possibly the exception of Block 9 that will only apply if you work on-site at your customers home)

To get started these foundation blocks will not cost a fortune to set up, only time -either yours or your staff – and the rewards can be transformative for your business..  As a bonus for taking the time to download and study this guide I have included three free bonuses for you at the end of this guide.

 

So to get started with the 11 Marketing Foundation Blocks simply download the guide here. Download.

 

Book Review – Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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duct tape marketing

duct tape marketing

Duct Tape Marketing is a great book for the small business owner and marketer without being full of marketing speak and jargon. Full of practical steps that a marketer can take to move the business forward.

Here are the top tips that I took from Duct Tape Marketing :-

Chapter 13, ‘Ramp Up a Systematic Referral Machine’. My eyes lit up when the title of the chapter mentioned “Machine”. This meant there was a system involved and business is all about having systems. Rather than have ad hoc referrals coming into your business build a system to maximise referrals. He even gives examples of how to build in asking for referrals as part of your initial sales process!!

On page 215, “One hundred percent refund for referrals”. Here he outlines a strategy where customers can get a 100% refund on their purchase by referring others to your business.

On page 215, “Peer-to-Peer Lead Conversion”. In this strategy, you put together a Zoom meeting to discuss an industry trend or a growing trend. Be sure to include at least two who are your happy clients. Then your job is to sit back and moderate the discussion. Three things generally result from this 1) your clients feel good about their decision. 2) Other attendees come away with a favourable impression of your place in the market and finally, 3) several members will call you the next day inviting you to show them how you can help.

On page 273, “The Powerful Marketing Habit of 5’s”. This habit is all about identifying 5 marketing actions and each Monday block out calendar time to do them. This dovetails nicely with the EC coaching habit of blocking out 90 minutes a day to work ON your business rather than IN your business. Check out this video by EC founder Nigel Botterill on working 90 minutes a day on your business.

So a practical marketing reference book for the small business owner and marker who is looking to maximise sales.

If you would like to discuss any of the points raised in Duct Tape Marketing then I would be delighted to schedule a 15-minute call – Schedule a Discovery Call

Video – Nigel Botterill explains how to Build your Business in 90 minutes a day

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build your business in 90 minutes a day nigel botterill

In this video Nigel Botterill, Entrepreneurs Circle founder explains how to build your business in 90 minutes a day.

This is a core habit that the Entrepreneurs Circle coaching instills in clients – to deliberately block out time each day to work ON the business rather than IN the business. We call it “getting out of the weeds”.

 

If you want to grow your business and found this video useful then you should consider looking into the resources available to Entrepreneurs Circle members – simply take a free 3-month trial membership and access thousands of pounds of marketing training designed specifically for entrepreneurs.

entrepreneurs circle free membership

 

Build your Business in 90 minutes Nigel Botterill

 

Water Softener Marketing – Seven Top Tips

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If you are responsible for water softener marketing for your business then I hope you will find these 7 top tips valuable, so please read on.

The first step to winning more water softener installation jobs is to think like a potential client who has an issue with hard water as it causes a mineral buildup in water pipes, heating systems and appliances, and its poor soap and/or detergent cleaning performance when compared with soft water. Put yourself in your potential water softener clients shoes.

What thought processes will they go through? Which websites do people visit when they are looking to learn about options on how to soften hard water? How can you engineer so they “see you” online when they are searching for a solution?

TOP TIP 1

Initially, potential customers will be searching online for information. Maybe they are looking for a DIY water softener solution. This is your ideal opportunity to become their trusted advisor. Have information on your website to educate them on the problem they are experiencing and looking to solve,  and even give them help on the solution. It may seem counter-intuitive to give free advice but this really does build you as the trusted advisor and even though some people will solve the problem themselves with a DIY solution there will be others who simply want to call in an expert when they do not have the time or the job is bigger than a DIY job. So this can be blog posts, PDF guides or videos. I recommend this book to my clients on how to create content that draws clients to you. They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan.  And this becomes even more powerful when it can be linked to a marketing automation system, see point 4 below.

TOP TIP 2

Be visible online. These days the first port of call, when someone is interested to learn about water softener options will be the internet and primarily using Google. It is imperative that your water softener installation business is visible on Google.

So do a check – how do you appear on Google right now in your local area. Because most of the time people will be looking first for a local water softener installer.

Step 1 – Go to Google, and for example enter the name of your local area followed by phrases like “new water softener”  “buy water softener”, “water softener installer” into the Google search bar.

Example: London water softener installer, buy water softener London

Step 2 – Make a note of the websites that come up on Page 1. Study them and get inspiration for your own ideas. Is your water softener installation business on the list? If not


TOP TIP 3

You need to get your website listed.

Google Adwords are the ads top and bottom of the search results page. Advertising is a quick win, but can be expensive and you need to know what you are doing. I would recommend hiring a Google Adwords Expert as it can be complex to set up Adwords and expensive if you get it wrong. (I would definitely recommend using Google Remarketing, this enables you to display ads to your website visitors AFTER they leave your site – the ads follow them all over the internet. These work great and costs next to nothing).

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This is the process to optimise your website so that Google lists it in the rankings. You need to be on page 1 of Google. The good news is that this is free, the bad news is that it can take many months of work to achieve a result. But once you do you will reap the rewards for a long time. SEO is a huge subject so you can either hire an expert or if you have the time and inclination you can teach yourself, check out the book I mention in TOP TIP 1.

TOP TIP 4

Have a water softener marketing and sales follow up system.

This is what the majority of water softener installation businesses do not have or understand. In points 1 to 3 above we are looking at ways to generate interest in our service, which is essential. But what you have to realise is that of those who visit your website only one or two in every 100 are ready to buy today. So if they do not buy today then that means 98% leave your website and the chances are they will never come back. That 98% is where the gold is for your business. So you have to have a system in place that enables you to consistently follow up with EVERYONE who expresses an interest in water softener services. This can be really simple – paper based or Excel, it is possible but it is a definite chore that requires dedication and time to manage. And that leads me nicely on to what I do. I specialise in helping clients set up a marketing automation system called Keap / Infusionsoft and this is the leading marketing automation system for small/medium size enterprises.

Check out my blog post – Water Softener sales leads. Do you really need more new water softener sales leads?

Check out my blog post – One of my water softener clients won awards for business growth

TOP TIP 5

Referrals. Even in this online world, word of mouth advertising is still the best. How can you encourage previous clients to talk about your water softener products and service? Can you offer them an incentive if one of their friends buys your service? Can you reach out to all your previous water softener clients and remind them about your service, this is really easy if you have a marketing system in place, see Top Tip 4 and an efficient Water Softener Installation System, see Top Tip 7.

On this note. Are you listed with the likes of Trusted Trader and/or any other review sites? Social proof these days is so important. How many times have you decided between one or other hotel or restaurant based on the reviews from previous customers? This social proof is key these days and you should be actively asking your customers for a review on each job you do.

TOP TIP 6

Distributing leaflets door to door is a popular and successful marketing tactic for water softener installers. But you can take this tactic one step further and also drop leaflets at neighbours houses when you do a water softener install or maintenance. So make it a rule for your installers to drop leaflets at neighbours houses – 5 houses to the right and 5 houses to the left, and then the ones opposite. So this way you quickly get 20 households flyered who probably have the same hard water issue as your customer had prior to your water softener installation.

TOP TIP 7

Water Softener Installation Systemisation

OK, so you have been busy marketing and you now have water softener enquiries and orders. But the job is still not finished. Now we have to ensure we look and act professionally and do a top-notch installation job so that we WOW and retain those hard-won clients. How do you manage you and your team’s on-site jobs currently? As the business grows you will need a system to make this as efficient and professional as possible so that clients not only return again to us later on, but they refer us to their friends and family. One very impressive service I have recommended to installation service clients for the past 4 years is ServiceM8.

If you are interested to learn more about how to build your own water softener marketing and sales system then please schedule a free 1-hour Discovery call.

water softener marketing

My Go To Free Editing Software For Images, Video and HTML – 2022

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free editing software

If you occasionally need to do simple image, video and HTML edits for your marketing material then the professional softwares like Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Rush can be like using a “sledgehammer to crack a nut” and be cost-prohibitive. However, there are free alternatives that will do the job just fine. They will not have all the advanced features that the paid solutions have, but then we are talking here about when you need to make simple image edits or get a simple video quickly up and live on Youtube. Or when you need to make a simple edit to some HTML code you are embedding on your WordPress site.

Here are my go-to free editing solutions.


1. For images I use GIMP 2. I know it is a weird name but it is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.


2. For video editing I use Shotcut. If you’re looking for a free video editor that can replace Windows Movie Maker, Shotcut is a particularly good choice. This open-source app contains all the tools you know and love from Microsoft’s classic video editing software, plus a raft of extras that bring it bang up to date.

 

 

3. For simple HTML creation and edits I use this easy to use WISIWIG online tool. https://htmlg.com/html-editor/

 

 

 

Top 10 Marketing Business Books for Entrepreneurs ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Books for Entrepreneursjulian top 10 marketing and sales booksHere are my top 10 marketing business books for entrepreneurs (PDF download). Now, these books will only resonate with you if you own or work in a small entrepreneurial business where generating sales is key. If you are looking for academic marketing books or you work in corporate marketing then these will not be for you. There is just a brief explanation of the value I received each time I read these books.

The 1 -10 ranking does not apply, as each of these books has its own unique angle so it would be like trying to compare apples and oranges. Unless I gained valuable business and marketing insights and enjoy reading them, then they would not be on the list. The non-affiliate link takes you to Amazon where there are full descriptions and reviews to enable you to decide for yourself.

 

1 The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes.

ultimate sales machineWhat can I say about this book? If you are in sales you should read this book. Unfortunately, Chet died in 2012 and so it appears a little dated with regards to internet marketing but the principles are timeless and I am sure this will become a classic sales/marketing text. Only 3% of people are ready to buy at any time when we are adverting. But what about the other 97%. How do you tap into these people and generate sales? The top 100 concept is a killer strategy for B2B marketing Amazon Link . BONUS – Check out this video with Chet and Tony Robbins. All in all it is about an hours worth of video, but very compelling – link to video.

2 They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan.

Mention blogging, content marketing, keywords, CMS, SEO to most business owners and their eyes glaze over with the thought of technical marketing mumbo jumbo. But this book is a practical ‘how to’ guide totally focused on what customers are looking for and how you can deliver education online that ultimately draws customers to you, rather than you chase them. One of my clients recommended this to me after I got him started with “blogging” and I showed him how I was able to attract customers to me just by providing valuable content online. This book contains timeless marketing principles, not a quick fix, gone tomorrow solutions that are so prevalent in internet marketing. Amazon Link

3 DotCom Secrets by Russell Brunson.

Fantastic book as it gives the small business owner a solid foundation by which to structure their marketing. Do you just sell one product? Russell introduces the concept of product ascension. His products range from free to $1M a year consulting. This is game-changing for most small businesses.  Amazon Link

4 Emyth Revisited by Michael Gerber.

Another top selling publication. As with Work the System (4) this is all about organising your business for success. Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business. Amazon Link

5 Work the System by Sam Carpenter.

So many small businesses are run on a wing and a prayer. No formal systems and this holds them back from greatness. In his book Sam uses his business as an example- taking it from working an 80 hour week, fighting bankruptcy and all the stress to a hugely successful business where he just has to work a couple of hours a week. Systems are key to business growth. Amazon Link

6 Launch by Jeff Walker.

The Product Launch Formula online training by Jeff Walker has been around now for 10 years or so. In this book, Jeff maps out his process for selling products and services online. The separate principles of his concept are nothing new, it is the way Jeff has organised them into a system which makes it so powerful. The book costs around £10 but I must say it contains about 80% of what is contained in the Product Launch Formula online course which costs about $2000. So this book is a smart investment. Amazon Link

7 Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestly.

Traditionally businesses spend money on advertising and chasing after customers. But times are a changing. With the internet and Google, anyone can quickly learn about any service or product they are interested in. In this book, Daniel explains in this new world how to position yourself and your business as the experts and so attract customers to you so that you are oversubscribed and as a result charge a premium for your product or service. Amazon Link

8 Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself by Mike Michalowicz.

This book goes hand in hand with Work The System (No. 4 above). It is all about how to plan and set up systems so that you can take a full month out of your business initially and prove to yourself that your business no longer requires you to work in the business, rather you become the designer of your business.

9 Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch.

Duct Tape Marketing is a great book for the small business owner and marketer without being full of marketing speak and jargon. Full of practical steps that a marketer can take to move the business forward. Read more.

 

10 How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

This is a timeless classic and is the foundation by which so many of today’s “gurus” are based. To be honest this should be a read for everyone. This is more personal self-development than marketing, but it just has to be on this list for me. Amazon Link

 

What is your most valued read as an entrepreneur? I would love to hear and maybe it will make it on my list of top books for entrepreneurs.